Introduction
It is no doubt that terrorism impacts are harsh and among the worst evils perpetrated by humans against fellow mankind. The 9/11 bombings and the bombings conducted on the pentagon and the World Trade Centre have left even the most powerful nation; the United States of America, in much fear and with much consideration of what the terrorists might be planning to execute in the near future.
Terrorism has become one among the worst effects of globalization. With ease of movement, every nation ranging from Africa’s Kenya and Uganda to the worlds most powerful, the U.S and Britain which have witnessed the devastating impact of terrorism.
The vulnerability has led governments, institutions and individuals at national and local level into preventative measures in case the terrorist attack once again. The preparation is being performed in an effort to reduce the stress and fear of what might happen. Apart from people becoming more cautious of the unexpected, at the local level campaigns and mobilization are being conducted to make people of the sudden terror attacks (Victor, 2006).
Preparing for Incidents of Terrorism at the Local Level
In an evaluation of the area surrounding Saint Leo, much has been done to prepare the community with skills to prepare them in an event of a terror attack. Many of the initiatives are conducted to educate individuals and their families on how to take precautionary measures (Victor, 2006). Most of the effort is sector based and directed towards the local community.
Mutual aid agreements are made within the local unit to strengthen the community response function, as well as work with the federal sates so as to improve the answer on terror attacks. According to several sources, the first step in preparing for the sudden panic attacks is to solicit information on what actually happens when terror attacks actually repeats itself.
History always repeats itself, and there can be no dispute that terrorism attacks in every part of the world are perpetrated by the same individuals, in the same manner with the same motive. With lessons from the past, it is celebrated for every man to prepare themselves with knowledge of what actually happens when the terrorist attack (Sageman, 2000).
Learning from areas where terrorist has already struck, people should become knowledgeable. This can be done at an individual level, where a person personally takes the initiative to search for information. This may include special levels where the head of the family or one family member seeks information and uses it to educate others on the best method of responding to fatalities.
The effect of terrorism is detrimental to an entire body and putting this in mind, it is necessary to have someone who the body can communicate to in times when the disaster strikes (Sageman, 2000; Victor, 2006). The concerned individuals should be perfectly aware of the various ways of accessing the person that will need assistance during the rescue mission. In that essence, the operation group must figure out effective ways of reaching the victims on the ground.
A reliable family friend or relative should be chosen so that the person is free and does not disappoint incase of disaster. In so doing, the person should be far aware from the community so that they are not direct victims in case of the terror attacks. On the other hand, they should not be too far so that travelling and communication becomes a problem. When travelling is not a problem, the individual can be consulted to come for the victims in case the terror attacks cause harm to means of transport for the person or their family.
Many times, terror attacks occur when family members are not running. It is therefore, crucial locally to equip every single member of the family with telephone contacts of the person who will become the liberation of the family in case of terror attacks. School going children should be given the telephone number of the person, and in every school, there should be a section where parents and guardians can make the emergency number of the person to be contacted incase of terror attacks (Michael, 2006; Sageman, 2000).
While mobile phones have become the most appropriate means of communication in the modern society, it is also necessary to rely on emails and other forms of online communication since during attacks, telephone lines and mobile phone networks may become congested. It is necessary to make everyone aware at the local level to be calm in times of attacks because their calls to the person who will appear in their release might not be answered at the first instance of calling (Sageman, 2000).
After having an official emergency rescue system and open channel of communication, it is acceptable for every person to identify their audience ground with their fellow tribe members or their friends who will assist in the event of a terror attacks. This step is particularly necessary because of the uncertainty that accompanies many terror attacks (Michael, 2006).
At such times, people hardly think right and often go round in circles due to the heartache that comes with the monster incidents. Having a preliminary means that includes a meeting place reduces much trouble and helps curb the misery that is likely to be witnessed in case of terror. Also, having a meeting place way in advance helps simplify the process of coming into terms with reality and reducing the time spent in the search for a successful meeting ground.
As discussed earlier, relations might become a problem in such a time and trying to discover each other will become more complicated if there was not any agreed meeting place. While the agreed place might be a hotel, it is also crucial to include a place for pets while coming up with such a plan since many hotels policies bar pets.
Many terror attacks strike when nobody is expecting them to strike. In light of this, it is crucial for every family to be educated and have hardware that the family can rely upon when the terrorism attack occurs. The number one requirement in such a kit should be medication for any sick family member that relies on them for assistance. For instance, this may include asthmatic children or treatment of diabetic individuals (Arnaud, 2007; Michael, 2006).
Secondly, such a kit to rely on incase of failure should include significant essentials for every family member such clothes. In case there is a member of the family with any form of disability, it will be necessary to have all their necessities within the kit. In addition, it is necessary to include necessities for any elderly members or system food for newborn children.
Having emergency equipment will make the family members more comfortable and reduce the burden of the attacks. At the local level, such kits should not miss bottled water and food since they are necessities for survival.
On the other hand, having a sleeping bag and additional copies of critical certificates for every family member such as copies of the family will, copies of the driving license, life insurance policies, copies of marriage certificates, as well as birth certificates for the children will help provide closure to the package (Allan, 2003). All this can be stored in a family friend’s house inform of a duffel bag.
In connection, schools also play a significant role during the planning process against terror attack; hence, they should never be neglected. As a matter of fact, it is necessary for every school to ensure it has an acceptable plan in case of terror attack. In case of such attacks, the school should instruct the children on an evacuation plan.
Secondly, there should be an acceptable alignment with parents on how the children are sheltered or picked in case of an emergency. As such, schools should seek to eliminate unnecessary confusion and try to become as prepared as possible.
Where parents are not available to pick up their children, the following should adequately inform the parents on what is required for someone else to pick up their child from school (Arnaud, 2007). As discussed earlier, telephone become jammed incase of disaster, and it is noteworthy that the school equips the parent with an email address that is used in cases of emergency rather than relying in the inconvenience and frustrations of jammed telephone lines.
On the other hand, modern communication technologies mobilization at the local level has become efficient through the use of local radio stations. Local radio stations can be of considerable help in preparing for a terror attacks. The first step in utilizing local radio stations is to assist in case disaster strikes.
This is achieved by training every practitioner in the station on how to communicate terror, as well as calm down the affected public. Officials in charge of emergency and disasters such as terrorism attacks and opinion leaders in the community should also be trained on how to address people by utilizing the local radio station.
In doing so, it is necessary to know that when utilizing the media, it can be a double edging sword. The words used can either bring hope and calm to the victims of terror or accelerate tension and fear among the local communities. Therefore, the concerned individuals must consider every tone used while addressing issues of terror attacks.
In connection, the local radio station can be a procedure that will help people assemble into a safe ground and also provide a channel of communication through which various members of the community can access each other. Emergency officials can also utilize the local radio station to direct individuals on the way forward (Arnaud, 2007).
There is no better way to prepare individuals within a local community against a foreseen disaster than to train them on how to conduct first aid and evacuation strategies. As a result, the population will be well informed on the methods of assisting the injured before professional assistance can be traced.
First aid is an essential tool in saving lives and equipping a proportionate number of the local community with first aid skills can be a key to saving lives (Allan, 2003). The trained individuals should be equally distributed in the region and well reliable to be in the community in case of an emergency.
By being distributed in the region, the community ensures that in whichever direction or location, the disaster strikes, there will be individuals well vast with first aid who will come to the rescue of the community. As a matter of fact, reliability assures availability in situations of terror attacks.
As witnessed in the 911 attack, terror attacks may be accompanied by massive destruction within the transport and communication network, as well as in the affected building structures (Arnaud, 2007). As a preparatory measure, it is essential that every employer ensure they are well vast with the medical conditions of all their employees. Alongside the medical information, every employer should have sufficient contacts of members so as to allow for an effective communication (Allan, 2003).
When terrorism attacks occur, health and medical facilities become jam-packed by the large number of casualties. As such, it is necessary that every health facility become prepared for such disasters; hence, ensure that they are well equipped to handle the situation. In addition, it is necessary to equip the facilities with practitioners who will attend to the mental condition of victims, which comes as a result of trauma among some of the victims.
Consequently, it will be an added advantage to have adequate personnel and bed spaces, which will ensure that there will be minimal overcrowding within such medical facilities. In the long run, all the injured persons will receive adequate treatment and be discharged in a timely manner.
On several occasions, the media is perceived to have a harmful weight on the health and well being of the affected parties. This happens when media group tend to pressure already traumatized individuals into giving information about the occurrences and their experience. Therefore, it would be beneficial to try and control the media in future attacks so as to allow quick recovery among the victims of attack (Allan, 2003).
While trying to establish the cause of attack, the media will go as far as intruding into the lives of the victims so as to get substantial evidence that will support their writing. As such, it will be beneficial to train the media practitioners on how to interview victims on an attack without causing further trauma.
Summary of Findings
Considering the legal implications of terror attacks, there will be heavy enforcement of laws at local, national and international level. At the local level, roads may be temporary blocked, and vehicles may be thoroughly scanned. It is necessary to educate legal officers to deal with the crisis appropriately while ensuring that perpetrators do not escape at close distance unnoticed.
Though there are rare cases of people getting infected in the course of conducting rescue, it is necessary to educate everyone appropriately. As a first step, people should be trained to avoid direct contact with blood especially on exposed parts of their bodies and there should be readily available gloves to people conducting first aid and rescue missions.
As much as possible, children should be protected from witnessing the terror impacts as well as from watching any unedited information. Parents should be well informed in advance in order to expose children to only information that will not have a negative impact of their mental health.
Another crucial way in which people can prepare for terror activities is by being keen of their surrounding and any unusual occurrence (Allan, 2003). Though terror activities strike when the victims least expects, the best way to prepare for the unusual is being aware of the usual environment. Despite, terror activities happen in unusual manners.
People should be keen with their environment so that in case of any alterations within the environment, they can easily notice and report to the authority. For instance, when a person is keen with the speed limit within the locality, they can detect a vehicle that is intended to conduct some illegal business. As such, individuals must strive to be careful with strangers; hence, refrain from receiving unnecessary packages from them.
Conclusions
In conclusion, preparing for terrorism attacks is never an easy task for any individual or local community. At times, the community can be called to take precautionary measures like any other disaster despite the fact that terrorism is a more complex act than many other known attacks.
Individuals need to be on the lookout at every single minute of their lives because it can never be easy to predict when terror attacks. As established, it is remarkably important to plan against terror attack since this will minimize the risk of the vice occurring, or limit the effect that such a disaster can cause on the local population.
References
Allan, M. (2003). Why Terrorism Works: Understanding The Threat Responding To The Challenge. Yale: Yale University Press.
Arnaud, G. (2007).The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al Qaeda. California: University of California.
Michael, P. (2006). The Terrorist Identity: Explaining the Terrorist Threat. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Sageman, M. (2000). Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty First Century. London: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Victor, E. (2006). Preparing the US Army for Homeland Security: Concept and Issues. New York, NY: Rand Corporation.